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History: The State of the World Now
For many it is difficult to imagine a worse time than which they are experiencing now. Prices have risen everywhere, from fuel to groceries to rent, and jobs are becoming scarce or have worsening conditions. Technology is cutting them back on one side, pushing workers out of jobs, and the creative activities which brighten their lives, are being taken over with one faked monstrosity after another, lacking in anything like a human touch while, on the other side, a government elected to govern and help has proven itself only capable of making the situation worse, of creating the many problems ordinary people are forced to face. It is almost as…
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Socialism: the Rediscovery of Democracy
As the democratic election process in the United States of America draws to an initial close – it is almost finished but for the shouting, the court cases, and the official recognition of the election’s correctness – there is still one word, one concept left hanging in the air which has been a spectre over every election campaign since at least the Second World War: Socialism. The Republican groups have touted the idea of Socialism as being the great bugbear of the western world, and especially the United States, whereby everything will be taken away from the people, and they will have no democracy left over. It has been thrown…
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Current Affairs: Housing Rights of Workers
There are moves afoot to change things in the housing rental sector across Europe and especially in Berlin, Germany. There are moves afoot to block the changes suggested for housing rental properties in Berlin, Germany. What is especially interesting about these two actions is that they are political, and partially from the same political parties. The main political party elected to govern the City of Berlin, Die Linke, has been forced into building a coalition with two other political parties, the Sozialdemokratische Partie Deutschlands (SPD) and Bündnis 90 / die Grünen, in order to gain a parliamentary majority. Whether a working coalition will come to be remains to be seen,…
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Democracy: Counting Votes and Absences
We thought it had a good start. There were people out on the streets singing and shouting, waving flags, hugging one another, celebrating the victory of Democracy as the results came pouring in. A Blue Wave, a Blue Tsunami for the Democrat party, flipping States and districts which had once been a solid red to a blue dark enough to be effective. And we thought that this return to democracy was here to stay – at least until the next elections – and things would begin to improve. The reality is something else. In the few days and hours since the results came in – and not all of them…
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Feminism: The Hardliners Fighting Themselves
It’s hard to believe but, even with the rapid advancement of time, knowledge and understanding we are going backwards. Admittedly not all of us, not the entire civilised or uncivilised world, but a few. And it is these few who seem capable of grabbing the headlines which, as we know from the way the press works, should not be that much of a surprise. What is a surprise, though, is that despite the opening up of western society to more equality and fairness, despite the work of feminism and feminists – as much as ordinary people who would not wish to be categorised as such – many women are supporting…
